Evie choked out a gasp. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks. It’s been a rough ride, but Nathaniel has helped. I was too dominant to join the pack in Florida— where my parents had moved. Their alpha had been killed and there was too much infighting. Someone told me to come here, and Nathaniel helped me control my wolf. The first few years were… hard.”

I shifted on my feet. Werewolf dominance didn’t always go the way human dominance did. I’d seen guys who blushed if you looked at them turn into powerhouses who became alphas once they were turned. Liam seemed cute and a little nerdy. But for him to be too dominant to join the Florida pack, he was likely high up in the hierarchy.

I watched Nathaniel. His eyes were open, and they’d darkened to his usual color. His face was blank.

“Take a seat,” he murmured, and Evie automatically moved toward the sofa.

Liam let out a low growl, and Evie jumped. Strangely, she didn’t jump toward me. She skittered toward Nathaniel, who had his eyes on Liam.

“Control your wolf or leave,” he said. Liam closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

“Apologies. My wolf doesn’t like it when you tell Evie what to do.”

“Your wolf forgets who is in charge here,” Nathaniel said silkily.

Last time I was here, I’d thought Nathaniel was a giant dick on a power trip. After witnessing one of his wolves teeter on the edge of control… and seeing the look in his eyes when he regarded me as a snack— and not the cute kind of snack, I understood the werewolf alpha much better.

Evie, however, did not. She narrowed her eyes at Nathaniel and he stiffened.

Disgust has a scent, he’d told me last time.

And we were way off course.

I stalked over to the sofa and took a seat, gesturing for Evie to do the same. Liam smiled at Evie. “Let’s hang out soon,” he said.

“Sure.”

He turned and walked away. I glanced at Nathaniel and he nodded at me. “Liam has enough control that he has full freedom of his movements. He isn’t bound to this house. Now, why don’t you tell me why you arrived with no warning?”

I flushed. “I’m sorry. I was hoping to talk to you about a case that might involve one of your werewolves.”

“Which case?”

I explained what had happened to Gary. When I got to the part where Cil talked about the werewolf eyes, Nathaniel stiffened. He slowly got to his feet, fury emanating from him. I’d spent enough time with Samael that I was getting used to enraged, powerful, dominant males, but Evie stiffened, her hand drifting toward the bottom of her skirt.